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PEP GUARDIOLA FULLY TRUSTS RODRI TO RETURN MAN CITY DOMINANCE

Pep Guardiola confirms Rodri will return to his best form, but Man City must be patient. The manager vows to manage his star midfielder's minutes carefully after his long-term knee injury.

Pep Guardiola fully trusts Rodri to return Man City dominance
Rodri’s early-season has been hampered by injury setbacks (Getty Images)

Even though Pep Guardiola is adamant that Rodri will go back to his best, he stressed Manchester City must wait until the Ballon d'Or winner is healthy enough to start every game once more.

Guardiola is awaiting word on the midfielder's availability to play against Liverpool on Sunday. He has only made one brief substitute appearance for City in the past month, against Bournemouth.

Guardiola thinks he will need to be cautious with his fellow Spaniard this season because Rodri has only played seven games for City since sustaining a cruciate ligament injury last September.

"I do not doubt that he will return and play; it will just take some time for him to get back to his previous level. However, we must confirm that he is physically present," he stated.

Guardiola thought back to the busiest week of the midfielder's season, when he started a Manchester derby and then quickly went on to play against Napoli and Arsenal. Rodri last started at Brentford on October 5th, but he hobbled off.

"Believe me, Rodri can play one game a week." "Arsenal, three days before [that] Napoli, then United, so if we play Sunday, then after Tuesday, Saturday after Wednesday - then go to the national team - this is another kind of competition," the City boss continued.

"Playing at that level is a different level of competition and a different approach. You recover flawlessly if you play one game per week. Every three days is the issue. According to history, you have a few issues the year after a long injury. We really try to avoid that, but it does happen, and the statistics show that you cease [playing] for a year.

As a manager, I know that Rodri will play when the doctors and physiotherapists declare him "ready." From now on, we must exercise caution and ensure that there are no setbacks.

Rodri, who has been playing as City's defensive midfielder in the absence of the Champions League winner, was hailed by Guardiola as the "greatest instructor" Nico Gonzalez could receive.

"All I want is for Rodri to be happy," he continued, "so that he may grin and enjoy himself once more." It has been difficult. He’s one of the more competitive football players I’ve ever encountered in my career, and how he drives his friends is remarkable.

Even the act of going out for a bit was something I wanted him to appreciate. The most difficult months—the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth months—with a protracted injury are over. At this point, he must attempt to remain composed and say, "Okay, I will be back around the corner and be with the team to do it."

But when he is outside with us and involved, he is always really upbeat and helpful to Nico. Nico, in my opinion, had the best instructor there.

REVEALED: THE SECRET TWO-WORD MESSAGE ERLING HAALAND SENT TO MAN CITY’S OMAR MARMOUSH

Erling Haaland sends a "Salam Brusjans" message to Man City teammate Omar Marmoush after Egypt's late AFCON win.

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Man City’s Marmoush and Liverpool’s Salah Rescue Egypt in 2-1 AFCON Opener

Erling Haaland, the Man City striker, sent a shout-out to Omar Marmoush after Egypt's crazy late win in the African Cup of Nations. Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scored the winning goal in the 91st minute, helping Egypt edge out Zimbabwe in their first game of the tournament.

This win gave one of the teams expected to do well a great start, especially since they had to come from behind to get the points. That goal was Salah's first since he scored in Liverpool's 2-0 Premier League win against Aston Villa in early November. Marmoush tied the game up a little after the hour mark.

After the game, Salah did what he always does and posted pics of himself with the other goal scorers on Instagram.

He put up a picture of himself with Man City’s Marmoush, and Haaland sent a message to his teammate.

The Norwegian wrote, 'Salam Brusjans,' which means 'peace brothers,' and added a thumbs-up emoji.

Even though Egypt won, their coach, Hossam Hassan, thought they could have done better in attack.

We didn't have the best luck. We missed a lot of chances and made things harder on ourselves, he told BeIN Sports. I told the players this could happen, and we need to learn from it.

There are no easy games. We want to try and win the whole thing. Egypt is a big team in Africa and should fight for the trophy.

Egypt is back in action on Boxing Day against South Africa in their group game. Then, on Monday, December 29th (4 pm kick-off), they play Angola.

Meanwhile, Man City is back in the Premier League on Saturday, December 27th (12:30 pm kick-off), when they play Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Sean Dyche's team is now safe from relegation and is five points ahead of West Ham United, who are in 18th place.

SHOCK: ERLING HAALAND’S HALL OF FAME VERDICT REVEALED: THE SECRET TO PEP’S GENIUS

How Erling Haaland smashed Alan Shearer’s records in record time. JUST IN: His SHOCK tribute to Pep Guardiola’s help.

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How Pep Guardiola Recreated a Monster

Ever since Erling Haaland switched from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City in 2022, he's been smashing records left and right. It's cool since his dad, Alfie, played for City, too. Right off the bat, he became the Premier League's top scorer in his first month!

Just a couple of months later, this Norwegian star became the first player to score hat tricks in three home games in a row in the Premier League. By the end of his first season, he was the top scorer with 36 goals—beating Harry Kane by six.

Haaland didn't stop there. He kept breaking records, becoming the fastest player to reach 50, 75, and 100 Premier League goals, beating the legendary Alan Shearer twice.

He's only been in England for barely three years, and this 25-year-old has already snagged two Golden Boots. Now, people are seriously thinking about putting him in the Premier League Hall of Fame.

‘So far, it’s been great to work with him.’

Haaland chatted with JioStar about how much City's manager, Pep Guardiola, has helped him become the superstar he is today.

Since I signed up with City, Pep Guardiola has really helped me tweak my game and get into positions where I can score. He’s a genius, and he’s been a big help in my development as a goal scorer. So far, it’s been great to work with him,” Haaland said.

Guardiola has really turned City around. They were already doing well after the Abu Dhabi United Group bought them in 2008 and won their first title in over 40 years in 2011-12.

But with Guardiola, Man City became a real powerhouse in the Premier League. They've won six out of nine seasons under him, plus the 2022-23 Champions League and two FA Cup titles.

Haaland has been part of two of those seasons—2022-23 and 2023-24. Earlier this year, City were behind Liverpool and Arsenal, but now they’re catching up to Arsenal and are still in the running for their 11th Premier League title.

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